James Madison University pedestrians will soon be walking under Harrisonburg's Main Street via a tunnel whose construction started yesterday in front of the school's historic Quadrangle.

JMU's pedestrian tunnel, which will close the southbound lane of South Main Street for about three months, will connect the campus to the school's performing-arts center that is under construction.

"The tunnel will take the majority of pedestrian traffic under Main Street," said Don Egle, a university spokesman. "It will make it safer for pedestrians . . . safer for drivers and the third advantage is that traffic will move smoother." JMU has had several incidents in which students were struck by cars as they crossed the street.

The pedestrian tunnel will funnel thousands of students to the future 174,524-square-foot arts center, which will include facilities for theater, dance, music performances, rehearsal and support rooms as well as classrooms and faculty offices. JMU officials said it would provide a "high-quality" home for concerts featuring JMU and guest artists.

Behind the center is a new parking garage. An atrium to be built in the arts center will lead students to the garage. The tunnel, which is part of the $90 million arts-center project, is scheduled to be completed by early August. The center itself will be finished by 2010.

"We've done one tunnel," Egle said. "This one makes a lot of sense." JMU's other pedestrian tunnel goes under Interstate 81 and leads from the recreation center to the center of the campus.

Preliminary work on the arts center tunnel, including removal of utility lines from the road, began months ago. But the main work, including drilling and blasting, will commence now that the school's 18,000 students have left for the summer.

Harrisonburg is willing to take the short-term pain of traffic problems for the long-term gain. "I think there are obvious concerns when a portion of a major road is closed," said Miriam Dickler, a spokeswoman for the city. "But in the long run it will help alleviate pedestrian traffic. There is heavy student traffic there."

Dickler said a detour, which is now in place, was made as simple as possible. While the tunnel is under construction, the northbound traffic will flow as normal. Southbound traffic will be detoured for a few short blocks to U.S. 42, which parallels Main Street.

"It's a good project," Dickler said. "It should help us out."

Egle said he believes students will use the tunnel, instead of crossing the street, because it will be quicker and easier. Dickler seemed a little less sure. "We're hopeful they'll use it," she said.
Contact Carlos Santos at (434) 295-9542 or csantos@timesdispatch.com.